A couple of years ago we had a garage built. I would like to insulate the walls and put up some sheet rock.
Couple of questions.
1.) When you are standing inside the garage looking at a wall. In some places you can see light through the bottom. It's like the 4x8 sheet is slightly warped in the center and bowes slightly away from the 2x4 on the bottom. Do I need to drive a nail in the middle of the studs to anchor that 4x8 sheet?
2.) Skylight. I had a skylight installed. Yes, it leaks now and I believe it was a dumb thing to do. I just thought the company we had build the garage had such a good rep that they used top of the line materials and I also thought the newer skylights were better than the old ones. Anyway about insulating. Is it worth, assuming we can get it not to leak, drywalling around the skylight or would I be better off to just tear it out? Keeping it would make insulating and sheet rocking the roof a pain in the butt.
Without knowing how the garage is constructed, I don't see how anyone can answer this. A 4X8 sheet of what? In the garages I've been familiar with, I don't see how a sheet of sheetrock that is slightly bowed could have light showing out the bottom. But certainly adding additional nails or screws can't hurt.
If it was a good quality skylight (Velux) and installed properly, it will not leak. Most of the skylight leak problems are a result of improper installation, not the skylight itself.
I don't see why having a skylight makes it such a big pain to insulate and sheetrock. Sure, you have to go around it, but it's not much different than going around a door, window, etc. If it were me, I'd figure out WHY it's leaking, and if it's an install issue, fix it. If it's the actual window, it should still be under warranty.
When you insulate the roof, make sure you have proper venting, soffit and ridge and use the plastic baffles before putting in the insulation to keep an air channel open.
Exterior sheet of plywood that has vertical groves. 4X8 sheet of siding.
With this company that would not surprise me at all.
Without the skylight the ceiling would be flat. With the skylight I would have to either frame in the area the light shines through or insulate the actual roof instead of the rafter area. Without the skylight the garage would just have a flat ceiling. Pretty easy to sheetrock.
I wouldn't put in a sky light but if I had one already in I would make it water proof. Unless the glass itself is leaking, it should be easy. If it's the glass, take it off, and clean the mount properly before you go gobbing on caulking. Caulking over old caulking is short lived.
Steve, This will not answer your questions, but: When I sheathed the inside of my shop I decided to use plywood. Today the big clubs sell 1/2 inch plywood for a little more than drywall. I believe it was $6 last time I looked. Now I can drive nails and hang tools anywhere I want. I did paint the plywood, and, prior to painting, I trowled on a skim coat of dry wall joint compound. Putting on the compound saved me many gallons of paint. Also, a sheet of plywood is a lot lighter than drywall and easier to handle.
These garages may be standalone structures. But if they're attached to a house, I think plywood walls would create a code problem unless you clad them with drywall.
If you're garage is attached, do check the local codes before finalizing your decision.
The code here is 5/8" abutting living areas. The rest can be finished how you like. So either he's grandfathered in or is doing the areas that weren't dry walled?
If it were me I'd tear out the skylight."Tunneled" skylights to retain the flat ceiling look like crap and insulating the roof isn't worth it in a garage and you are gonna have to remove it to fix leak the anyway..If it's a Velux skylight , sell it , if it's off brand junk , toss it away... Even though the garage isn't attached I'd still sheetock it (especially the ceiling) and add plywood or pegboard where you want to hang tools , ect. due to fire protection...Good luck...
If you are insulating make sure you install a plastic vapour barrier under the sheetrock i.e. on the warm side of the insulating batts. Failure to do so can mean that warmed and therefore damp air, filters out into the wall and into the insulation. The warm air can then condense its moisture within the insulation, which then gets wet. It is then becomes useless as insulation and may fall down within the wall and cause mould and rot. In serious cases have seen frost form within the insulation! For most climates there should be some sort of permeable barrier (building paper/Tyvek etc.) on the cold side under the outer sheathing. Many sheds omit this since there are built semi ventilated 'garden shed' style!. The Tyvek etc. prevents the ingress of actual water but allows the walls etc. to 'breathe' so any moisture that does form within the walls can escape. The vapour barrier on the warm side of the insulation should be reasonably well sealed around any wall outlets and windows etc. There is special tape for this; its somewhat like 3 inch wide clear packing tape but is often bright red.
It sounds like you have T-111 siding. If it is bowing out, nail or screw it back against the framing.
I don't understand why people want to drywall a garage unless it is attached to the house and for "code" purposes only. I finished the interior of my shop/garage with metal "liner". It is the same metal siding they use on pole buildings except it only has 2 coats of paint and costs less. You put it up, you're done. No finishing, no painting, and can be powerwashed, and has a ribbed texture. Worried about rust? Not to worry, it will last longer than you will. The company will cut it to the inch so there is little cutting. It can be scored and cut out for electric sockets and such. Fast, easy, durable and looks great for a garage/shop.
By code, plywood sheathing on the exterior of the building should be nailed every 6" around the perimeter of the sheet, and every 12" in the middle of the sheet. If that's not the case you should start by adding whatever nails you need to bring it up to code. In most buildings today, the plywood sheathing works with the studs to create a "shear" wall. If the plywood isn't nailed correctly and you have an earthquake or strong wind storm, your garage may not have enough strength to resist wracking or even possible collapse.
If the plywood is nailed correctly and you are seeing light between the plywood and the lower 2x4 plate of the wall, it's possible the 2x4 is simply warped, or has a depression where it meets the plywood. If it were me, I would buy a few tubes of a dark caulking and seal up those gaps. If light can get in the wall, so can cold air and insects. Seal them up.
If you are seeing light UNDER the lower 2x4 plate, you might want to run around and tighten all the anchor bolts a bit. Wood shinks up as it dries, and it's possible the anchor bolts aren't holding the framing tight to the foundation anymore. You should have 2" square washers under the nut at each bolt to prevent crushing the wood fibers. Ideally, a roll of "sill sealer" should have been installed between the wall and foundation when the walls were put up. But I would recommend caulking around the lower part of the wall also to seal out air and insects.
Overkill for a garage? Perhaps, but it's easy and inexpensive to tighten things up now and seal gaps with a few tubes of caulk. One you insulate and sheetrock, it will be virtually impossible to deal with these items. Afterall, you never know what future use you may get out of the garage
Any roof pentration has the potential to leak, but as long as the skylight is installed and flashed properly, there's no reason it couldn't be made water tight. In addition, the skylight can let a lot of natural light into your garage.
I would certainly try to seal up the skylight if I could before I resorted to tearing it out and trying to patch the hole and match the roofing materials.
For a garage, foamed in place insulation is best - followed by "rock wool". Fiberglass isn't high on my list due to condensation/moisture issues, the resulting mould issues, and critters. Neither Urethane foam nor rock-wool support mould growth or encourage critters.
Google "Roxul" re: rock wool.
Both need to be covered. Spray foam is it's own vapour barrier and seals leaky joints.
More probably the plywood doesn't reach down to the bottom plate. Adding a block of wood on top of the plate, between the studs, is a simply solution.
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